All references are included in their entirety as if reproduced in full herein.
It is well established that cold weather, and particularly cold air, can play havoc with your lungs and health. See American Lung Association, “COLD WEATHER AND YOUR LUNGS”. See, “Why Breathing Cold Air Hurts When You're Running”, Runners World, William O. Roberts MD Dec. 3, 2019, More than 60 million people run or Jog in the United States, and more than 110 million people participate in walking for fitness. Cold air is often dry air, which dry air is often a killer, causing much mortality and morbidity, especially for those with lung diseases. See COPD among adults in NY disclosing that 15 million Americans have been diagnosed with (COPD), Airway diseases (see NIH, NIEHS, “Lung Diseases”, revised 2020,) also can cause discomfort, mortality and morbidity.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discloses that “Chronic lower respiratory diseases” are the 4th. leading cause of death in the United States in 2018. Dry cold air can irritate the airways of people with asthma, CDC discloses in excess of 25 million Americans have Asthma. See NIH, NIEHS, “Lung Diseases”, revised 2020, Moreover, there are many patients with Lung Cancer, heart disease, and other diseases and irritations of the lung and airways, any respiratory condition, who are in need of a safe, temperature adjustable, cost-effective, portable, non-burdensome intervention to warm cold inhaled air and all other air, to humidify said air. Sleep Apnea Statistics show that the current population of the United States is 326 million, 10% of which have mild obstructive sleep apnea. This translates to 32.6 million people who could possibly benefit from applicant's invention. Moreover, there are an estimated 22 million Americans who suffer from moderate to severe sleep apnea, many of these could benefit from applicant's invention. People with cardiac conditions also could benefit from applicant's invention. See “The Sleep Zone, “Sleep Apnea Statistics” Feb. 9, 2018. See also US EPA, “Asthma continues to be a serious public health problem in the United States”, EPA-402F-04-019, May 2018.
Air Guard discloses some, but not all, of the people who could benefit from the inhalation of warm, humidified air. The medical costs caused by cold dry air is in the many billions. The suffering is incalculable. See The-perfect-present.com, “Air Guard Medical CT Cold Air Winter Face Mask”. website, 2019.
The simplest way to heat inhaled air is a scarf wrapped around the mouth and nose. This has been used for hundreds of years. It works to some degree. It is awkward, restricts breathing, impairs speaking, cumbersome, accumulates moisture and germs, and is stifling and claustrophobic, the more it is wrapped around the face, the more restrictive the breathing becomes.
Cold Weather masks have been developed to fill this huge unmet medical, athletic, and other need. Laura Johannes in the Wall Street Journal, reports, “A Breath of Warm Air on a Cold Day”, testing of Four cold weather masks in Boston in 25-degree weather. The tests involved cross-country skiing, and biking. She tested the two main technologies currently used, namely a heat exchanger, with a copper mesh installed directly in front of the mouth. Polar Wrap. This works by the exhaled air heating the copper mesh, and the inhaled air trafficking over the heated copper mesh, heating and humidifying the cold air before it is inspired to the lungs. The second one used, Psolar inc., used a heat absorbing plastic directly in front of the mouth, with a desiccant to absorb moisture.
The third model used and discussed by Johannes, supra, ColdAvenger™ has a chamber in front of the mouth without a heat exchanger, so that the cold inspired air mixes with the warm expired air in the chamber, is heated, humidified, and inspired into the Lung. The CT mask was also tested; it is a copper mesh heat exchanger in front of the mouth. It has a severe restriction of breathing, i.e., it obstructs air flow and requires a large amount of work from a user's diaphragm to get the air in.
This article of Johannes, W S J op cit above] discloses the main failings of both approaches. The HME (heat moisture exchanger) masks restrict breathing with the heat exchanger copper or other heat sink material or mesh directly in front of the mouth, or in the airflow leading to the mouth, no exceptions. Anything between the mouth and the airflow impedes inhalation and exhalation causes restriction and impedes breathing. The HME masks are claustrophobic, impair speaking, are not heated air And Humidity adjustable, and they accumulate moisture and germs.
The ColdAvenger™, with an empty chamber in front of the mouth, without a heat exchanger, in front of the mouth, has superb breathing without air restriction. Moreover, the ColdAvenger produces little heated air if anything, as noted in Applicant's extensive personal experience. “Heat exchanger masks—a Love Story” (www.coldbike.com/2019/02/13/heat-exchanger-masks-a-love-story/), also discloses, in reference to the ColdAvenger, “No real heat exchange only a pocketful of exhaled breath at the mouth”. Heat exchanger masks—a Love Story also discloses in reference to the Polar wrap heat exchanger, “Like breathing through a straw” AND “This is the best device for waiting for the bus” Thus in the art the empty chamber model produces little or no heated air or humidity, the Heat moisture Exchanger produce some heated air and increased humidity, with severe restriction/inhibition on breathing.
See “THE CARDIOPULMONARY EFFECT OF A HEAT AND MOISTURE EXCHANGE MASK ON COPD PATIENTS DURING COLD EXPOSURE” John G. Seifert, PhD June 2009—which discloses a mask that works in the COPD patient during cold exposure. Siefert discusses “Recovery benefits of using a heat and moisture exchange mask during sprint exercise in cold temperatures” which discloses HME (Heat and moisture exchange masks) mask works compared to no mask.
See NIH, NIEHS, “Lung Diseases”, which describes lung diseases.
See also “Efficacy of a heat exchanger mask in cold exercise-induced asthma” of Beuther D A, Chest 2006 May; 129(5):1188-93, which describes a mask that works as well as the drug albuterol pretreatment.
See also Rodrigo Athanazio, “Review—Airway disease: similarities and differences between asthma, COPD, and Bronchiectasis”, Clinics 2012; 67(11): 1335-1343, 2012, which discloses the diseases, risk factors, pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases amenable to use with applicant's invention.
See also Maria D'Amato at al, “The impact of cold on the respiratory tract and its consequences to respiratory health”, et al. Clinical translation Allergy, (2018) 8.20, which discloses the negative effects of cold air in indoor environments such as cars, offices, homes, shopping centers, hotels, nursing homes, hospitals, and the like.
The aforementioned references describe circumstances which can be characterized as perfect places for the applicant's invention. Another huge advantage of the invention is that in the same room of any facility, each individual's inspired warm air can be custom tailored, (bespoke), to that specific individual. In fact, each individual outside or inside can have a custom tailored bespoke warm air inhalation profile.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,343 of Cummins, for a respiratory heated face mask, which discloses a face mask with an electric heater element. This is different than the applicant's invention in that it has an extended air inlet (24), nothing in or on the housing (18), and a severely restrictive heater element directly in front of the mouth, (54), a restrictive filter (48), and a further restrictive threaded cap, and further restrictive air inlets and air outlets with check valves, (26,34,32,36,38,40).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,584 of Dearstine discloses an electrically powered face mask. A severe fatal shortcoming of this reference is that as shown on Cover Page and FIG. 1 There are two air inlet ports, 28 and 32, on both sides of the face, with inlet port 30, directly above the mouth. Every animal from the ant to the elephant has the mouth and air intake directly in front, or slightly behind the nose, through the mouth. It doesn't work any other way. It would be an extreme restriction, extreme difficulty, or extreme unworkable burden on air inhalation to try to inspire air from both sides of the face, and the front port, and therefore Dearstine '584 is substantially unworkable. Furthermore, to open these three inlet ports requires much energy, which is additional restriction of inhalation. Dearstine '584 at column 1, reference claims twice, “Warm and dry the face of a wearer” Dearstine '584 at column 2, line 65, says the same thing. This reference of Dearstine '584 discloses or claims nothing about heating or humidification of the air for inhalation of the “face of a wearer”: See Dearstine '584 at column 1, Field of the invention, and at column 1, second to last paragraph. Applicants other aforementioned prior references disclose that dry air is very harmful for inhalation, although the Dearstine '584 reference does not disclose warming or humidification of air for inhalation, nor humidification of the air for inhalation. The Dearstine '584 reference exclusively discloses warming the face.
The Dearstine '584 reference also claims at column 2, lines 45-48, a cost-effective invention for manufacture and marketing. Applicant differs with 4 separate distinct inhale and exhale flaps; see Dearstine '584 at column 4, lines 19-21, taken together with the requirement of two batteries, see Dearstine '584 at FIG. 7; therefore, this Dearstine '584 reference is not cost-effective to manufacture. This reference claims an array of electrical resistance wires for generating heat, positioned in each inhale port with wire attachments to these electrical resistance wires, provides additional resistance to the airflow inhalation of air.
Moreover, as disclosed in the invention, after the person exhales the exhalation flap closes, so that the mask is empty, and then air warmed by the electrical wires heats the oncoming air and warms the face. This reference discloses or claims nothing about heating or humidifying air for inhalation.
Additionally, a common prior art non-heated N95 face mask (i.e., Moldex 2200 N95 Particulate Disposable Respirator) overlays and encircles the nose and mouth of a person when installed with the straps extended behind the head. They are commonly available at Home Depot and the like, used for decades, in the millions, to block paint, sawdust, pollen, dust, sand, dirt, and other small particulates.
Applicant travels to Canada every year for the last 16 yrs. to photograph polar bears in minus 50 Degree temperature to minus 20-degree temperature for weeks at a time. Applicant has used the Polar Wrap Heat exchanger mask, (copper mesh) extensively during this time. While it does heat the inspired cold air, it also displays the problems noted above associated with the prior art devices. While using the polar wrap heat exchanger mask does modify what could be minus 40-50-degree cold air, there is much room for improvement. Applicant certainly can use increased air temperature, without claustrophobia, and restriction, etc.
Applicant also tent camps in Alaska, with a small lightweight solar Cell Light, which works very well, the solar battery of this light, with its adjustable current output and small size, is ideally suited for use in the applicant's invention. Moreover, the applicant in New York has extensively and successfully used a 7.4V battery heated gloves, which work great, and the 7.4V battery or less, 5V, or 3.7V batteries are ideally suited for use in the applicant's invention, or non-rechargeable/disposable batteries.
Applicant has also used the ColdAvenger™ chamber cold weather mask. It supplies little or no heat, as noted by the Wall Street Journal article of Laura Johannes, but it has little or no restriction on breathing.